US-funded startup hub Nexus looks to go beyond Delhi with new partners

The US Government-funded start up incubation center Nexus is planning to expand its activities outside Delhi by creating new centers in collaboration with potential partners such as T-Hub in other states in India.

Started exclusively in India by the American Center, the Nexus Startup Hub has trained more than 90 startups through 9 cohorts each with a 10-week programme during the last two-and-a-half years, according to its executive director Erik Ajulay. He said Nexus has been currently in discussions with several agencies to launch a programme similar to its Delhi cohort in other cities.

On an average, Nexus has been receiving 150 applications for each cohort out of which it is selecting 9-10 startups based on strong ideas and the potential they hold to become  business ventures. So far, the startups that were part of the first 8 cohorts had received a total of $ 5.6 million in funding from angel investors from India and the US, according to Ajulay.

For the first time Nexus has hosted a defence startups workshop in Hyderabad ahead of the US-India defence ties conference beginning on Wednesday. The defence startup workshop selected nearly 20 startups supporting US-India defence cooperation. These startups will get a chance to attend the defence ties conference to gain a deeper understanding of the defence sector, technology commercialisation, among other things.

While the Nexus startup incubation programme is sector agnostic, the startups selected for the workshop have been engaged in development of products and applications which are  relevant to the defence sector, according to Eric Azulay.